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Airbus A350 XWB
The Airbus A350XWB is a group of long-range twin-engine wide-body jet airliners developed and manufactured by Airbus. The A350 is the first Airbus aircraft with fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fibre reinforced polymer. Its variants typically seat between 315 and 369 passengers. The A350 is positioned to be the sucessor of the Airbus A340 and to compete with the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The A350 concept was originally made in 2004 as a paring of the A330 fuselage and new aerodynamic features and engines. The airline redesigned the aircraft in 2006, creating the A350XWB (extra wide-body). The first A350 flew on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse. Type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was received in September 2014, and certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was received two months later. The A350-900XWB entered service with Qatar Airways on 15 January 2015. The A350-1000 entered service on 24 February 2018 with the same airline. Development Airbus initially rejected Boeing's claim that the 787 Dreamliner would be a threat to the Airbus A330. Airbus proposed the A330-200Lite after airlines urged Airbus to provide a competitor. The company planned to announce this version at the 2004 Farnborugh Airshow, but did not proceed. On 16 September 2004, Noel Foregeard confirmed the consideration of a new project during a private meeting. Foregeard did not provide a name or describe the design of the airliner. Airline dissastisfaction prompted to invest 4B euros into the new airliner. The original A350 resembled the A330 due to its common fuselage. A new wing, engines and a new horizontal stabiliser created from composite materials would be added, however. The A350 was renamed after the board of EADS and BAe Systems gave Airbus an authorisation to offer on 10 December 2004. On 13 June 2005 at the Paris Air Show, Qatar Airways had announced an order for 60 A350s. In September 2006, the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with General Electric to launch the GEnx-1A-72 engine. Emirates sought for a better design and decided against ordering the initial version of the A350. On 6 October 2005, the programme's industrial launch was announced, with an estimated development cost to be 3.5B euros. The A350 was initially planned to be a 250-300 seater derived from the A330. The A350 would see entry as the A350-800, carrying around 253 in a three-class configuration up to 8,800nmi and the A350-900, carrying around 300 in a three-class configuration up to 7,500nmi. The A350 was designed to be the direct competitor to the Boeing 777-200ER and the 787-9 Dreamliner. The original A350 design was criticised by International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). On 28 March 2006, ILFC President Steven F Udvar-Hazy urged Airbus to pursue a clean-sheet design instead of building on the A330. In April 2006, Singapore Airlines' CEO Chew Choon Seng, after reviewing the Boeing 787 and A350, commented that having gone through the trouble of designing a new wing, tail, cockpit...Airbus should have gone the whole hog and designed a new fuselage'.'' Redesign On 14 July 2006, during the Farnborough International Airshow, the redesigned aircraft was designated as the A350XWB. Within four days, Singapore Airlines agreed to place a firm order of 20 A350XWBs, and an additional option for 20 more. The proposed A350XWB was a new design, allowing for a wider fuselage and a larger seat arrangement. The previous iterations of the A350 and the A330 could accommodate eight seats per row, with the 787 Dreamliner being configured for nine per row. The 777 could accommodate nine to ten seats per row. The A350XWB cabin is 12.7cm wider than the 787 cabin, and 28cm narrower than the 777 cabin. All A350XWB passenger models have ranges of at least 8,000nmi. The resdesigned composite fuselage provided airlines with a higher cabin pressure and humidity, and lower maintenance costs. On 1 December 2006, Airbus board of directors approved the industrial launch of the A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1000 variants. Pegasus Aviation Finance Company placed the first firm order for the A350XWB on 4 January 2007. The design change forced the A350 programme to be delayed by two years, and increased the development costs from 5.5B euros to 9.7B euros. The total development costs estimated by Reuters were up to 12B euros. Design Airbus suggested the use composite materials. The A350XWB cabin was to feature large carbon fibre panels for the main skin. Airbus, after receiving critisim due to maintenance costs, announced the adoption of composite materials into aircraft structure. In 2006, Airbus confirmed a development for a full bleed air system, opposed to the 787's bleedless option. Rolls-Royce agreed to supply a new variant of its Trent turbofan engine, now known as the Trent XWB. General Electric stated it would not offer the GP7000 engine on the aircraft, and that the previous contracts for the GEnx engines did not apply to the redesigned A350XWB. Pratt & Whitney followed suite, saying it was looking at an advanced version of the GP7000. In May 2009, GE announced that if it were to reach a deal with Airbus to offer the GEnx for the A350, it would only power the A350-800 and -900. In January 2008, Thales Group won a 20-year contract worth 2B euros to supply avionics and navigation equipment, beating Rockwell Collins and Honeywell. Rockwell Collins and Moog Inc were chosen to create the horizontal stabiliser actuators, and primary flight control actuations. In 2006, Airbus signed a firm contract with BMW to develop an interior concept of the original A350. On 4 February 2010, Airbus signed a contract with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to supply in-flight entertainment and communication (IFEC) systems for the XWB variant. Production In 2008, Airbus planned to introduce new techniques to cut the assembly time in half. the A350XWB saw extensive international collaboration and investments in new facilities. Airbus constructed 10 new factories in Western Europe and the US, with extensions carried out on three existing sites. In June 2009, the National Assembly for Wales announced provision of a 28M pound grant to provide a training centre, production jobs and money towards a new production centre Airbus had built for 570M pounds. Airbus manufactured the first structural component in December 2009. Production of the first fuselage began in late 2010 at Illescas, Spain. Construction of the A350-900XWB's centre wingbox was set to commence in August 2010. The new composite rudder plant in China opened in early 2011. The forward fuselage of the first A350 was delivered to Toulouse on 29 December 2011. Final assembly of the first A350 static test model commenced on 5 April 2012. Final assembly of the first A350-900XWB prototype was completed in December 2012. The production rate was expected to rise from three aircraft per month (early 2015) to five (end of 2015), and would increase to ten per month by 2018. In 2015, seventeen aircraft were delivered. Airbus plans to increase its production rate from 10 to 13 monthly in 2019. 90 deliveries were expected in 2018, with 15% being the A350-1000 variant. Testing And Certification The first Trent XWB engine test was made on 14 June 2010. Airbus confirmed that the flight testing would last 12 months and would utilise five aircraft. The A350-900's first flight was on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. The airliner flew for four hours, reaching Mach0.8 at 25,000ft after retracting the landing gear. Development costs were around 11B euros at the time of testing. F-WWCF underwent 2.5 weeks of climatic tests in the McKinley Climatic Laboratory in Florida, in May 2014. The airliner was subjected to climatic and humidity settings between -40C and 45C. The A350 received type certification from EASA on 30 September 2014. EASA approved the A350-900XWB for ETOPS 370 on 15 October 2014, becoming the first airliner to receive ETOPS Beyond 180. On 12 November, the A350 received certification from the FAA. Introduction In June 2011, the first A350-900XWB was scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2014, with the -800 planned to enter service in mid-2016 and the -1000 in 2017. Airbus delayed the -900XWB's introduction by three months in June 2012. The first delivery was made to Qatar Airways and took place on 22 December 2014. The first commercial flight was made on 15 January 2015 between Doha and Frankfurt. After one year, the A350 fleet had accumulated 3,000 flight cycles and 16,000 flight hours. Its first customers utilised the aircraft on average for 11.4 hours per day. After the entry into service, problems arose in three areas. Airbus issued service bulletins regarding equipment and removed galley inserts due to leaks. The airline also added a gold-plated connector to the bleed air system to prevent overheating. By the end of May 2016, the in-service fleet had accumulated 55,200 hours and over 9,400 flight cycles. The first A350-1000 was assembled in 2016, had its first flight on the 24th of November, and had entry planned in mid-2017. 62 aircraft were in service with ten airlines by January 2017, accumulating to over 154,000 flight hours and over 25,000 flight cycles, with an average daily utilisation of 12.5 hours. The reliability rating was 97.2% in 2015, 98.3% in 2016 and 98.8% in June 2017. After 30 months of commercial operation, 80 A350s were in service with two operators. The largest was Qatar Airways (17), followed by Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines (13). In October 2017, Airbus was testing extended sharklets for the A350-900XWB, which could potentially offer 100-140nmi extra range and increase fuel efficiency by 1.4-1.6%. The design was first used on the A350-900ULR in 2018, before extending to the other versions. By February 2018, 142 A350-900XWBs had been delivered, with a reliability of 99.3%. By April 2019, Airbus was testing a hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) on the leading edge of the A350 prototype vertical stabiliser. At the 2019 Dubai Air Show, Emirates finalised an order for 40 A330neos and 30 A350s, compensating for the cancellation of 39 A380-800s. Design Materials The A350XWB airframe is comprised of 53% composites (carbon fibre reinforced plastic and empennage), 19% aluminium, 14% titanium, 6% steel and 8% other materials. Fuselage The A350XWB fuselage has a constant width between the first and fourth door in order to provide maximum volume. The ovoid fuselage has a maximum outside diameter of 5.97 metres. The cabin's internal width measures 56.61 metres. The aircraft allows for a 2-4-2 seating arrangement in premium economy, and a 3-3-3 layout in standard economy layout. Undercarriage Each main undercarriage leg is attached to the rear wing spar forward and to a gear beam aft, which is attached to the wing and fuselage. To reduce loads, a double side-stay configuration was adopted. The A350-900XWB has four-wheel bogies in a 4.1 metre long bay. The A350-1000 uses a six-wheel bogie with a 4.7 metre bay. Messier-Dowty supplies the undercarriage for the -900 variant, and UTC Aerospace System supplies the -1000 variant. The nose gear is supplied by Libherr Aerospace. Wing The A350XWB features composite wings with a wingspan of 64.75 metres, within the same ICAO Aerodome Reference Code E 65 metre limit as the A330, A340 and Boeing 777. The aircraft has a 31.9deg sweep angle and has a cruise speed of M0.85, with a MMO of Mach0.89. The A350-900XWB wing covers 442m2 of area. The A350-1000 wing is 22.3m2 larger via a 30 centimetre extension to the inboard sections of the fixed trailing edge. A trailing-edge high-lift device was adopted for the aircraft. The wings are produced at the North Factory at Airbus Broughton. Cockpit/Avionics The redesigned A350XWB glass cockpit adopted a 38 centimetre liquid-crystal display screen system. The six screens include two centre displays, two primary flight and navigation displays and two on-board information screen. Avionics are further developed from the integrated modular avionics (IMA) concept found on the Airbus A380. The A350's IMA is capable of managing up to 40 functions (compared to 23 on the Airbus A380). Engines In 2005, GE was the launch engine of the original A350, aiming for deliveries starting 2010. Rolls-Royce offered the Trent 1700 at the time. After the A350XWB update, GE offered the GEnx-3A87 engine for the A350-800 and A350-900, but not the A350-1000. Rolls-Royce was eventually selected as the A350XWB engine developer in December 2006. The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB features a 300 centimetre fan disk and was created by refining and adding developments on the Airbus A380 (Trent 900) and the 787 Dreamliner (Trent 1000). The A350-900XWB features either a 330 or 350kN propulsion system for regional versions and a 370kN propulsion system for baseline intercontinental aircraft. The A350-1000 features a 430kN propulsion system. Airbus accepted an ETOPS 370 on 15 October 2014, covering 99.7% of Earth's surface. Engine thrust reversers and nacelles are supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems. Systems Honeywell supplies the HGT1700 auxiliary power unit with a 10% greater power density than the TPE331, from which it was developed, as well as the airflow management system. The ram air turbine is supplied by Hamilton Sundstrand and is capable of generating 100kV-ampere of power. Airbus decided to revert from lithium-ion to nickel-cadmium technology in February 2013 due to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner battery issues. Parker Hannifin supplies the fuel package. Variants The three main variants of the A350 were launched in 2006, with service planned in 2013. Airbus postponed the service for the first A350-1000 to mid-2017 during the 2011 Paris Air Show. The A350's service was delayed to the second half of 2014 in July 2012. The A350-900XWB began service on 15 January 2015 with Qatar Airways. In October 2012, the A350-800 was due to enter service in mid-2016, but development has since ceased since September 2014. The A350XWB also has an ACJ350 variant, offering 10,800nmi of range for 25 passengers. A350-900XWB The A350-900XWB is the first A350 model and has an MTOW of 280t. The aircraft typically seats 325 passengers and has a range of 8,100nmi. The Boeing 777-200ER has a 16% heavier manufacturer's empty weight, 30% higher block fuel consumption and 25% higher cash operating costs than the A350-900XWB. The airliner is designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner, as well as to be a replacement for the A340-300 and A340-500. A proposed A350-900R extended-range variant will feature higher engine thrust, strengthened structure and a landing gear of 308t MTOW to provide an extra 800nmi of range. An A350-900F freighter version with a range of 5,000nmi and similar payload/volume to the MD-11F will possibly be under study, depending on market demand. Philippine Airlines has announced plans to replace its A340-300 with the A350-900HGW (high gross weight) variant from 2017. The airliner will enable the airline to fly between Manila and New York City without payload limitations. The version will have a 278t MTOW, and from 2020, the -900 will be proposed with the A350-900ULR's 280t MTOW (up from 268t). In early November 2017, Emirates committed to a purchase of 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamlienrs before Airbus presented an A350-900XWB layout with the rear pressure bulkhead pushed back by 1 metre. A350-900ULR The MTOW of the A350-900ULR variant was increased to 280t and the fuel capacity was increased from 141KL to 165KL, allowing for flights up to 9,700nmi. The first A350-900ULR made its first flight on 23 April 2018. Singapore Airlines, the launch customer of the A350-900ULR, will use seven airliners on non-stop flights between Singapore and New York City, as well as various cities on the US west coast. The airline will operate the airliner with seating between 170 and 2500. A350-1000 The A350-1000 is the largest A350XWB variant at nearly 74 metres in length. In a three-class configuration, the A350-1000 seats 366 passengers. The airliner is designed to replace the A340-600 and compete with the Boeing 777-300ER and the 777-9X. Airbus estimates the 366-seat A350-1000 should have a 35t lighter OEW, a 15% lower trip cost and a 7% lower seat cost, as well as an extra range totaling to 400nmi compared to the 777-9X. Wehn compared to the 777-300ER, the A350 claims a 25% fuel burn seat advantage. The 7 metre extension seats 40 more passengers. In 2011, Airbus redesigned the A350-1000 with a higher weight capacity and a more powerful engine variant for larger range. Assembly for the first fuselage major components commenced in September 2015. In February 2016, final assembly started at the A350 Final Assembly Line in Toulouse, France. Three test aircraft were planned to commence service starting in mid-2017. The first aircraft completed its body joint on 15 April 2016. Its maiden flight took place on 24 November 2016. The A350-1000 flight test programme was planned 1,600 flight hours and 600 hours on MSN59 (flight envelope, systems and powerplant checks), 500 hours on MSN71 (cold and warm campaigns, landing gear and high-altitude checks) and 500 hours on MSN65 route proving and ETOPS assessment). GeoFS An Airbus A350-900XWB is available in GeoFS designed by LRX. Airline Operations '''A350-900XWB A350-900ULR A350-1000XWB Category:Airbus Category:Aircraft Category:Community Contributed Aircraft